Protect My Other Self
by ShingetsuXMangetsu
Summary: There's a longer explanation in the a/n, but here's the mini: Thirteen chap kurofai Halloween fic. Mature themes, T to be safe. Ashura bashing, implied SyaoSaku. Please check out and review
1. Chapter 1

**Hey^^ PLEASE READ THIS, IT'S IMPORTANT!**

**Okay, I just want to quickly explain what this is: I wanted to do a Halloween story (for obvious reasons) and after a few days of planning, I have a story and a plan. This will hopeful be thirteen chapters with daily uploads, the last of which coming on Halloween or at least Halloween where I am^^ I have some of it written, but a lot of it is going to be typed up the day of so I might go over my thirteen chapter goal ^^' **

**The first chapter is, by my own admission, _rough._But that was a necessary evil in order to set up the rest of the story. After this it's written (In my opinion lol) much better, so bear with me^^ I'm going to try for at least one attempt at a horror scene per chapter(this one isn't particularly scary, just a set up) There will be at least one or two that I gleaned from a movie so if you pick up on one, let me know and receive a cookie in the next chapter^^ The rest are either original or intentionally cliched. (yes there will be some cliche, cliche is _good in _moderate amounts)**

**Also, there will be plenty of KuroFai (now NO KUROFAI would be scary...)**

**Please review^^**

**P.S.**

**To fans of A Retelling:**

**Over the next thirteen days there is no guarantee that you will get your usual weekend update^^' It is possible though, depending on how far behind I get with this. Just remember that reviews inspire me to type faster and the faster I type the more I upload^^**

**ENJOY...**

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Kurogane sighed and pushed a full sized mattress up against the wall; it wasn't very large, but it was heavy and laying flat on the floor which made maneuvering it a hassle. The room was small and almost dingy, with not-quite-white walls of flaking plaster and bare wood floors that were scratched and chipped. The windows were single-paned and lacked blinds, letting in the dim grey light of their current city.

Kurogane and the rest of the group had landed in this world about two weeks earlier, but even though Mokona sensed a feather, they couldn't trace it and they realized that they might be in this new world, New York, for a while.

New York was modern, but certainly not Piffle, and it was, at least in the section they had landed in, violent. It was also cold, cramped and expensive and living out of a hotel, even a cheap one, was not helping them financially. They had sold things in the beginning for money, but now they had run out of things to sell and they needed jobs. They also decided it would be less expensive to pay rent on an apartment than to continue paying weekly for the hotel. They found a dirt cheap two bedroom apartment on the thirteenth floor of a huge apartment building in the city.

Green Meadow Apartment Complex did not look remotely green or meadow-ish; it was old, smelled of cigarette smoke and had a completely inadequate heating system. But they could afford it for the time being and that's what mattered. They'd even gotten a discount because the apartment they had asked about was particularly hard to rent. According to their landlord, something about the address (Apartment thirteen on the thirteenth floor) made it undesirable and it had been vacant for almost a year.

That year showed when they looked inside; the door opened directly into a kitchen with black and white linoleum flooring and a doorway that led to a relatively large living room. One bedroom was directly off the living room and the other was down a claustrophobic hallway, across from the single small bathroom. You could see dust motes floating through the patches of light that squeezed through unwashed and un-shuttered windows. The ceiling was graying drop-down tiles with long fluorescent lights over the kitchen. The floor was all hard wood, but old and damaged with stains and scratches. They took it.

It was partially furnished, meaning it had a refrigerator, a television, a plastic cordless phone on the wall in the kitchen and two mattresses pushed together on the living room floor. Kurogane's first job was to push one mattress into each of the bedrooms.

"Kuro-sama, when you're done with that come here!"

Kurogane straitened with a sigh. He wasn't really a nitpicker and he knew beggars couldn't be choosers but this place was a _dump_. There was dust everywhere since no one had been there for so long, all because of the address. Apparently thirteen was considered "unlucky" in this world. In Kurogane's mind, that was considered "bullshit".

He walked back to the living room. Fai was sitting on the floor with the manju in his lap and the kids were sitting across from him.

"Have a seat Kuro-daddy, family meeting."

Everyone looked washed out in the dim light. Even the blonde seemed a little paler than usual, his skin almost matching the walls. The ninja stalked over and dropped to the floor beside him. Fai gestured to a newspaper sitting on the floor in front of him.

"Okay, we have enough money that I can stretch it for food for a week at the most, but we need to find jobs. Syaoran-kun,"

Fai opened the paper and flipped to the want ads.

"Can you read this?"

The boy studied the words for a moment, screwing up his face.

"Yes. Most of it anyway…"

"Good, because that's how we're going to find them."

After thirty minutes of scouring the paper they all found something they thought they could do. Sakura found an ad for a waitress that included and ad for a busboy, an opportunity Syaoran jumped on. He wanted to work with the princess and in Kurogane's opinion it was good she wouldn't be walking by herself in this city. They took turns calling the number at the bottom of the ad and doing phone interviews. Both of them got the job.

Fai found an ad for a bartender at a nightclub that was also advertising for a bouncer. It was perfect, and he whined until Kurogane agreed. They both called and they both got the job they interviewed for. It was the first good thing that had happened in days.

They spent that day around the house and in the evening, Fai decided to take the last of their money and buy some necessities and groceries. On his way out, Kurogane grabbed his coat and followed.

"Kuro-chu wants to come with me?"

"I don't want you going out by yourself idiot. Knowing you, you'd get lost."

Fai turned back into the apartment and called out.

"Alright, it looks like we're both going, you guys know the rules!"

"Mokona's in charge!"

Fai laughed.

"You got it Mokona!"

Fai twirled out the door with the ninja grumbling behind him.

They picked up blankets and soap and some groceries. The nice thing about Mokona, Kurogane consented, was that they could store stuff and didn't have to buy everything new in every new world they went to. They were still out later than they'd planned though, and at nine, they decided to take the subway back.

When they reached the apartment, Fai handed his bags to Kurogane and unlocked the door. He stepped inside and froze as Kurogane stepped in behind him. All the lights were off and the kids were sitting on the couch, transfixed by the TV. Fai turned to Kurogane and raised his eyebrows.

"That's odd; they usually don't pay to much attention to TVs."

Kurogane shrugged and flicked on the kitchen light, setting the bags down on the counter. There was a two second delay as the light flickered before turning on completely and the kids jumped up at the sudden light. Mokona shot across the room and landed on Fai before squeezing his hand.

"Mokona will make sure he is real!"

Fai laughed, but it sounded more nervous than anything, like he was trying to dispel the apprehensive atmosphere that was emanating from the apartment.

"Mokona, what are you talking about?"

Mokona ignored him and simply called out.

"Fai is here!"

The kids were already walking over though. They both looked nervous, but Sakura seemed almost scared and Syaoran was clearly watching her. She walked up to Fai hesitantly before suddenly lounging forward and throwing her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest. Fai stepped back with the sudden weight, but returned the hug and gave her hair a stroke.

"You're alright, what's the matter?"

She shook her head without looking up. Fai looked over her at Syaoran who shook his head and bit his lip.

_Later_

"Nothing, Fai-san… sorry."

"It's okay."

He murmured as she stepped away offering a shaky smile.

"Can I help?"

"Sure," He smiled reassuringly, reaching back to the counter and retrieving two bundles of bedding.

"You could make up the beds if you'd like."

"O-okay."

She took the bundles and hesitated momentarily before moving off to the bedrooms. Finally, Kurogane spoke up from behind Fai.

"Oi, kid, what's going on?"

"Well," He paused, speaking low, "A little after you left I went to the bathroom and when I came out I heard Sakura-chan talking to… someone. But when I walked into the living room, no one was there. She was talking to a… a space, _and she was_ _saying your name."_

Syaoran looked at Fai as he spoke and the blonde arched his eyebrows.

"You mean-"

"When she noticed me she turned around like nothing was going on. I-I asked who she was talking to and she said she was talking to you. Then she turned around and screamed. I asked why and she said you had disappeared. But you were never _there_ to begin with."

Syaoran reiterated and they nodded. Fai looked around.

"Where was Mokona?"

"Mokona was exploring the air ducts!"

The small white creature dropped out of a near by heating vent and bounced over.

"Mokona didn't see anything but it sounds really creepy!"

"I'm going to go check on Sakura-chan, make sure she doesn't have a fever…"

Fai walked out of the kitchen and Kurogane focused on Syaoran.

"Well? What do you think?"

"Kurogane-san?"

The ninja leaned against the counter and crossed his arms.

"I taught you, in Outo, how to observe your surroundings without relaying on your sight. Don't tell me you need a review..?"

"No, I remembered. I even closed my eyes to keep from confusing myself. There wasn't anything there."

"You're positive? It wasn't magic or anything? An Illusion? You can still feel the difference between that and anything else, right?"

"Yes, I'm positive; I would have felt something if there had been magic… There just wasn't anything there and Sakura-chan got scared and I… I decided to turn on the TV…"

Kurogane raised a critical eyebrow as Syaoran trailed off with an embarrassed flush and tried to explain himself.

"I-I thought the background noise might help…"

"Hmm…"

Fai returned slightly worried but smiling none the less.

"She doesn't feel warm, certainly not enough for her to hallucinate… She said she was hungry; she might just need to eat something. I'll start diner, Syaoran, please keep an eye on her, okay?"

"Of course, Fai-san."

The boy walked out to join his princess and Fai walked behind the counter and began putting groceries away. When he was finished Kurogane watched as he cleaned a chicken and set it stewing on the stove. Then he produced a cutting board from a cabinet under the counter. He dumped a pile of potatoes to the side and retrieved two knives, waving one at the ninja.

"Kuro-chu, help me chop!"

"Learn my name mage."

He grumbled, but joined the blonde anyway, quartering potatoes next to him. After several minutes of silence, Kurogane spoke.

"You think it's okay for them to be sharing a bed?"

He spoke without looking up and Fai answered in the same manor.

"Oh Syaoran-kun is such a gentleman and Sakura-chan is very innocent. Besides, whenever they sleep together I have Mokona stay with them."

Kurogane rolled his eyes.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure that thing's a big help…"

"Well, I used to check on them myself, but Syaoran, being a gentleman, always keeps himself on the edge of the bed and sometimes if the bed is small, I'll catch him on the floor. I have no worries about the two of them."

The ninja did not respond, knowing the blonde would understand that that meant he understood. Regardless, Fai continued.

"Besides, it's so cold I don't think either of them would sleep without the other. And poor Sakura-chan is so shaken up… I really think she's okay, just hungry, tired and a lot more stressed out than a girl her age should be, poor thing…"

He was right; the apartment was freezing even though the heat was all the way up. At first they had thought the heat wasn't working, but when they felt the heating vents they realized that they were hot and working fine. But unless you stood directly in front of one, you couldn't feel it at all. Kurogane grunted and slid a pile of potatoes towards Fai with his knife, only to receive more.

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**Alright, time to click that cute little button and tell me what you think^^ I don't have any art for this chapter yet, but I probably will at some point. If _you_feel like drawing some, let me know and if you have a dA upload it and I'll fav and mention it in the next chapter. If you don't have a dA, PM and I'll upload it to my account and give you credit. I WILL NOT UPLOAD_ ANYTHING,_ IT HAS TO BE STORY RELATED. Thanks for reading and remember to review Review REVIEW^^**

**ありがとう,**

**ハッピーハロウィン**

**ShingetsuXMangetsu**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey^^ What gives, people? I have a ton of favorite stories and story alerts on this, but no reviews! I'm gratefull of course, but I like a little feedback so I have something to go on. Oh, wells, I'm just happy people are reading... Please Enjoy^^**

They ate, and when they finished eating they all went to bed, Fai reminding them that they all started jobs the next day.

Kurogane and Fai shared a bed which was not abnormal; they'd been forced to share before out of necessity and were both used enough to one another's presence that it seemed fairly normal. Kurogane went to bed first, lying down on the inside edge of the mattress and a few moments later, Fai joined him.

Kurogane immediately back up a little, knowing about Fai's space issues. No matter what, at some point during the night, Fai always managed to squirm closer to the ninja so that when he woke up, the blondes head was tucked under his chin and his arms were braced up against his chest.

Although, the ninja mused, in this cold weather it might not be such a bad thing. It was freezing in the apartment, even thought they had the heat cranked. When Fai entered the room and lay down next to him, Kurogane actually allowed him to back himself up into his chest. The heat was welcome, and so was the silence, which predictably lasted only a short amount time as Fai managed to find something to distract himself with. The blonde spoke, his voice mercifully quiet but slightly slurred from exhaustion.

"It looks weird, doesn't it?"

Cracking one eye open, the ninja grudgingly considered what Fai might have been going on about. It might have been the fact that the room was devoid of furniture. The makeshift bed was up against the back wall, facing the door and the rest of the empty room. Their perspective from the floor made the room look larger than it was and almost intimidating.

Or it could have been that, because of the lack of blinds, there was light filtering in from the surrounding buildings and streets so they could see how grey the room was. And because some of the light was from cars and it was casting odd, ever shifting shadows on the floor and walls.

Yes, it could have been any one of those things, but it didn't matter because all of them were being pointed out to him at one o'clock in the morning and he was tired. He calmly put his hand over Fai's mouth earning an indignant, but muffled, whine.

"Stop talking. For six hours, just _stop talking_."

Slowly he removed his hand and the silence held for a few moments. Then…

"But it _is _creepy…"

**Short and not particularly scary, I know. But we're getting there^^ I can't wait to post the fourth or fifth chapter, major pick up in scary AND Kurofai...**

**ありがとう,**

**ハッピーハロウィン**

**ShingetsuXMangetsu**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey^^ Finnaly, some scary! It's towards the end though... Thanks again for reading and please review^^**

The next morning they woke to a dark sky. It was freezing, of course, but apparently it was just warm enough for bitter, icy rain to begin pouring overnight.

They were all in the kitchen while Fai made eggs. Kurogane leaned against the counter, Sakura sat on the counter with Mokona in her lap and Syaoran stood next to her.

"Did you all sleep well?"

Fai poured a bowl off whipped eggs into the sizzling pan. The question was clearly directed at Sakura who everyone was watching carefully.

"Fine," She answered smiling brightly. "Did you sleep well?"

"Wonderfully!"

Fai smiled into the pan; they were all crowded around the stove because of the heat coming off of it.

"Alright, everyone knows where they're going today right?"

Fai asked and Sakura nodded determinedly. Syaoran looked slightly less sure.

"Syaoran-kun and Sakura-chan have to be at Gianni's at three thirty. You have money for the subway, right?"

"Yes."

"Good, now mommy and daddy-"

"That joke needs to die."

"Aren't going to be here when you get back; we have to be at Wish by eight and we won't be back until one. Unfortunately, they are only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday so we can only work then, but we'll still make lots of money and I'll make tips. There are left-overs in the fridge for when you guys get back. You can reheat them on the stove; just don't leave the house once you get back."

Sakura smiled.

"We know, Fai-san."

Fai passed everyone a plate and began to dish out eggs.

"We'll look for your feather before you go to work today, okay?"

"That's great thank you."

Kurogane accepted the plate and Fai hopped up on the counter next to him. They finished eating and left.

"Mokona doesn't like this world, it's scary!"

"Shut it Manju!"

The group was trying to cross the street outside of their apartment complex. They had spent the entire day wondering around the city, looking for signs of the feather. They had even talked to an antique dealer, only to be given an odd look. It seemed that the longer they looked the weaker the signals that Mokona picked up. So eventually they turned around and went back. Mokona was in a black back-pack slung across Syaoran's shoulders and _was not_ supposed to be talking. The traffic simply wouldn't let up and if it went on any longer the kids were going to be late for work.

Traffic slowed and, seeing a gap, Fai started to step into the street. Kurogane threw an arm out, stopping him.

"Wait."

Just then, a car whipped around the corner and blew past them, splashing them all with freezing water. Kurogane cursed before realizing everyone was now looking at him to give the okay.

"Well you can go _now."_

They sprinted across the street just before some traffic light somewhere turned green and sent traffic whirling again.

They stumbled into their apartment dripping wet and late. The kids went to get ready for work, Sakura in their room and Syaoran in the bathroom. Fai was looking out the living room window at the city below. He turned to Kurogane, still ruffling a towel through his hair.

"Kuro-wet, do you think they'll be alright getting there by themselves?"

Kurogane looked up at him while he finished drying off.

Fai was standing in the center of the living room, framed by the dark grey sky showing through the window. Once again, no one had bothered to turn on the overhead lights and his light skin, blue eyes and silver blonde hair glowed in the half light. He looked almost… ethereal. Kurogane shook his head.

"What?"

"Do you think they'll be okay getting to their jobs? Should we walk with them?"

Kurogane rolled his eyes.

"They'll be fine, the kid'll be careful. Don't be an idiot."

Fai laughed and walked over to him.

"I can't help worrying…"

Just then, Sakura and Syaoran emerged from their respective rooms and walked to the door.

"Okay, see you guys tonight!"

Sakura called happily and Syaoran followed her out the door with a quick goodbye to both of them. They left in somewhat of a hurry, giving Fai no time to fuss. He turned to Kurogane with a smile.

"Well, I guess that solves that dilemma."

That night around three in the morning, long after they had all returned home and gone to bed, Kurogane was woken up when Fai left the bed, presumably to use the bathroom. That was one annoying thing that being a ninja caused; sure being trained to be a light sleeper was great if you were sleeping under the threat of assassins, but if you were in a completely safe situation, the only noise coming from a hyperactive blond who didn't have the common sense to empty his bladder before going to bed, Kurogane thought it might be better to sleep through it.

The ninja had his eyes closed and was willing himself back to sleep when he heard the light, quiet padding of bare feet on the slick wood floor. He kept his eyes closed and didn't bother saying anything when he felt the smaller man slip under the blanket. He didn't even bother complaining when he felt Fai curl up against his back. He was probably cold, Kurogane reasoned. His suspicions were confirmed when he felt how icy cold his skin was, even through his t-shirt. He was about to say something, when he heard the toilet flush.

**Lol, I like attempting lame cliff-hangers. Okay, that scene actually _was_ inspired by a scene in a movie, but the movie's kind of obscure so MAJOR respect to anyone who gets it. Remember, even if it's in more than one movie, you have to guess the one I'm thinking of. Please review^^ Let me know how I'm doing...**

**ありがとう,**

**ハッピーハロウィン**

**ShingetsuXMangetsu**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey^^ Really short one today... **

As soon as heard the toilet flush, Kurogane's eyes flew open and he realized that the bed was empty, except for him. Whatever had been curled up against him was gone and he actually _felt_ the blankets float back down and settle against the bed. He sat up with a jerk just as Fai, the real Fai, came back into the room.

"Sorry," He whispered groggily, "Did I wake you?"

He climbed back into bed and curled up next to Kurogane, who was still trying to rationalize what had just happened.

Now he realized things he hadn't noticed before, like the toilet not flushing. The door had never opened and he hadn't even heard_ breathing_. He didn't remember the last one until he heard Fai's quiet breathing next to him.

He was a ninja, Kurogane reasoned; if there had been something there, he would have felt it. His final conclusion?

"No… not you… Just some weird dream…"

**Sorry, so short! oh wells, please review^^**

**ありがとう,**

**ハッピーハロウィン**

**ShingetsuXMangetsu**


	5. Chapter 5

The rain continued into the next day, but the group took Mokona out in the city regardless. The weather had a way of sapping everyone's energy and the discouragement of not being able to find the feather wasn't helping. They simply couldn't get a lead, they had even tried just talking to people on the street, only to receive practically terrified looks or be completely ignored, neither of which was particularly cheering.

When Fai and Kurogane returned from the club that night, after Fai checked on the kids, there was nothing to do but sleep.

Once again, around three in the morning, Kurogane woke up. This time it wasn't Fai though; the blonde was still asleep at his side, his breathing even.

The ninja's eyes roamed the room, searching for the source of the noise. Because they were in a complex different noises were constantly drifting into their apartment courtesy of their neighbors. Voices, clanging dishes, even the creaking of pipes; these sounds along with others were all just background noise now and Kurogane was positive that that wasn't what had woken him.

He froze, listening silently silently, having to strain to hear the quiet padding of feet. It was definitely closer than another apartment though; it sounded like it was coming from down the hall.

Slowly he sat up. This world seemed pretty violent and, even though he was sure he would have heard someone break in and it could have easily been one of the kids, Kurogane's mind was forcing him to go make sure.

He untangled himself from the blankets that were perfectly warm from his and Fai's combined body-heat and hissed a curse when the cold air hit him. Fai stirred and slurred something, his face characteristically buried in his pillow. Kurogane rolled his eyes and whispered.

"Go back to sleep."

The blonde murmured something else, but didn't move again. Kurogane could have laughed; if someone had woken him and told him to go back to sleep without any explanation, he would've been immediately suspicious. He did it to the mage and he accepted it without a second thought.

Slowly, Kurogane maneuvered himself around Fai and crossed the room. He eased the door open, managing to keep it from squeaking, a sound that was always magnified by silence. Stepping out of the doorway, Kurogane made his way down the hall, only to discover Syaoran in the kitchen.

Internally, he heaved a sigh of relief. With thoughts of break-ins currently pushed to the back of his mind though, Kurogane was left to wonder just what the hell the kid was doing.

Syaoran was standing about six feet from the entrance, stock still and staring at the floor. When Kurogane drew closer his head snapped up, obviously startled.

"I heard something," The ninja explained, "But… I guess it was you…"

He was about to ask Syaoran what he was doing when the boy found his voice.

"It wasn't, I heard it too… Look."

Kurogane followed his gaze. On the yellowed, peeling, black-and-white linoleum of the kitchen floor were three sets of wet footprints, like someone had just stepped out of the shower and walked through their kitchen. Not all the way through though; they stopped about four feet from the doorway to the living room. It wasn't a gradual fading of wetness, but a sudden absence of prints. There were no others, not even going back towards the door.

"Kurogane-san… do you think someone could have-"

"I'd have heard the door."

"But what if-"

"I would have heard the door kid. You or the princes must have done it when you came home and not realized. Or maybe the mage…"

True, that wasn't like the blonde who _fussed_ over every little thing, but it was all Kurogane could think of.

"But what about the _noise?_"

Kurogane sighed.

"There was probably someone in the hall. Go back to bed."

It was the boy's turn to sigh.

"Alright… goodnight."

"Goodnight."

He watched the boy retreat to his room before returning to his own.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey^^ This is Saturday's "make-up" chapter. I felt bad about skipping, so I included some kurofai to make most of you happy and to severely annoy one specific person who knows who they are ;D Please review^^**

Sunday morning they woke up to sun, warm, bright and welcome after days of clouds and rain. It poured through the windows and for once, the lack of blinds seemed like a good thing. In Kurogane's eyes, his companions seemed like the cats that roamed the halls of Shirasagi castle; they would walk through a patch of sunlight and without thought, simply stop and stand in it, absorbing the warmth. The kids didn't have work that afternoon and he and Fai only worked until midnight, so all of them had a feeling of laziness emanating from their bones.

Fai had pooled his and Sakura's tip money and restocked the fridge. Now he was making pancakes and bacon, the smell filling the small apartment and making it feel even warmer.

They were focusing less on finding the feather and more on becoming established. They had no leads as to where it might be so they were at a standstill, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Syaoran was watching the news in the living room and Sakura was standing next to Fai as he monitored a cooking pancake. Actually, it was more like she was hovering. Kurogane had to suppress a smile; the girl was asking if she could help. Again. She wanted to contribute so badly and he knew she felt bad that they couldn't leave this world until they found her feather, but the truth was there wasn't anything any of them could do.

After trying in vain to get her to relax and be comfortable, Fai told Sakura that if she really wanted to do something, she could strip the beds and take the bedding down to the building's laundry room in the basement. She smiled and left to start in her and Syaoran's room.

When Kurogane moved to stand next to Fai he felt the overwhelming urge to make fun of her. He didn't normally joke, but for some reason, he thought Fai would get it. He knew he loved the girl like she was his little sister, and Kurogane couldn't help but admire her courage and resolve that she showed whenever the situation called for it, but sometimes she was too much. He dipped his head and spoke right next to Fai's face.

"Can I help? Are you sure? What can I do? I'd like to help. Do you need any help?"

It took Fai a minute to realize what he was doing. When he did, he laughed. Softly at first, then louder, giggling with one of the rare, real, smiles he occasionally treated Kurogane to. Then they were both laughing and Fai gave him a light shove, weakened by his own laughter.

"You're…_terrible,_" Fai laughed, "That poor girl…"

"_Likes to help."_

Kurogane finished for him and started him laughing again.

They froze and fell silent as Sakura passed the doorway on the way to their room. As soon as she was out of earshot though, it started again. Fai fell to the side slightly and leaned on Kurogane. The ninja, without thinking, slid his arm around his waist to keep him from falling as they continued to laugh. After a few seconds, their laughter slowly subsided and Kurogane tock stock of their position.

Fai's entire body was leaning on him, his head resting high on his chest and his hands braced on Kurogane's ribs. Kurogane's arms were wrapped around his thin waist, fingers laced over a slim hip. His tight jeans were low cut and his shirt had ridden up, meaning the sides of Kurogane's thumbs were brushing his bare skin.

Kurogane slowly realized that he did not want to move, as he probably should. It was hard to interact with someone as closely as he interacted with Fai and not think of them the way he was currently considering him. The blonde was always so distant though. Even when he was right there next to him, annoying the _hell_ out of him with nick-names or sweets or a complete lack of a concept of personal space, there was always a _wall_.

But right now, there wasn't a wall there, just Fai. Kurogane felt fine blonde hair brush his chin as Fai shifted and the taller got ready for the shorter to pull away. But he didn't; instead, he simply shifted so that he was looking up at Kurogane. His hair fell in front of his face and, without thinking, Kurogane brushed it back. He kept his hand on the side of Fai's face and felt him lean into the touch. They were so close, and suddenly, a thought flashed, bright and quick through his mind.

_I could kiss him._

He titled his head and Fai, seeming to understand, blushed and titled his head as well. That was when they heard the scream.

**Ruh-roh... Who's screaming now..? I suck at cliff-hangers, lol... Oh wells. So now there's some kurofai action^^ I know the people who read A Retelling didn't think it was gonna happen ( yeah, they're still waiting, but it's coming) but I did it. Let me know what you think^^**

**ありがとう,**

**ハッピーハロウィン**

**ShingetsuXMangetsu**


	7. Chapter 7

**_Hey_^^ Short chapter today, sorry^^' Thanks to all of my reviewers though, they make want to keep going even when I dont feel like typing!**

_He titled his head and Fai, seeming to understand, blushed and titled his head as well. That was when they heard the scream._

When they heard the scream Fai stiffened and they instantly broke apart. Syaoran jumped up from the couch, Mokona with him and Kurogane was already moving, ahead of Fai, towards their bedroom where the sound had come from.

He shoved open the door to find Sakura with sheets pooled at her feet, presumably wear she had dropped them, staring at the bare mattress.

She turned when she heard them at the doorway; Syaoran pushed in ahead of Kurogane.

"Princess, what's the matter? What's wrong, are you okay?"

"Y-yes," She looked startled, but otherwise unharmed. She took a deep, steadying breath.

"I'm fine. I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scream it's just…"

She moved to the side slightly and gestured towards the mattress. On the closer edge was a large, rust red blood stain.

**Okay, so, I've decided that once I finish uploading this, I'm going to edit it and re-upload next halloween. Because I'm rushing to upload everyday I know this isn't quite as well-written as it could be, but I decided to do it so I'm going to, then I'll go back and fix it up^^**

**ありがとう,**

**ハッピーハロウィン**

**ShingetsuXMangetsu**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey^^ Now we find out what the blood is... kinda. Anyway, there's a minor shot of Kurofai at the end to keep you interested. Also, I've decided to start responding to reviews in the next chappies a/n, so here we go:**

**Tarmachan: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it^^**

**Cased In Darkness: Alright, for the sake of your dwindling sanity, I made this about twice as long as I was going to, just for you^^ If I don't make it to thirteen chapters though I'm blaming you, lol ;)**

**Enjoy^^**

The stain was huge; obviously a lot of blood, but it wasn't fresh. Kurogane could tell that just by looking at it. It was very old though, more than a year. Kurogane couldn't begin to imagine how he had missed it when he had moved the mattress. Fai seemed to be having the same thought as he stepped forward and knelt beside it.

"How did I miss this..?"

He shook his head and Kurogane sighed, turning to the kids.

"Alright, it's not a big deal, just a stain. We'll take care of it. Go back to… whatever you were doing."

"I was taking laundry to the… laundry… room."

"Kid, you know where it is?"

Syaoran looked surprised.

"N-no, actually…"

"Figure it out; I'm sure there's a sign or something."

The kids took this as their cue to leave and took Mokona with them. Kurogane called after them after they left the room.

"Make sure whatever was on the stove doesn't burn!"

He turned back to the stain.

"…The fuck..?"

"Mind your potty-mouth, Kuro-rin."

Fai spoke, but he sounded absent minded. Somehow, Kurogane always got the impression that Fai had seen blood. But even after the closeness they'd shared minutes ago, he knew better than to ask Fai about his past. He settled for trying to get the blonde's attention. He walked over to where Fai knelt, transfixed by blood.

"Oi,"

No response.

"Don't worry about it, I'll flip the mattress, it's not a big deal."

Fai turned to look at him, head tilted up.

"Where do you think it came from?"

"Honestly?"

Kurogane arched an eyebrow and Fai nodded.

"Just looking at the amount of blood and where in is, I think some girl got her bloods and it was really heavy."

Fai stared at him, obviously surprised at his answer.

"How do you even know about that?"

Kurogane almost laughed.

"You already know that in Nihon I serve a princess. I've known her since she was very young and I was there when she bled for the fist time. Scared the shit out of me…"

He still remembered the day when princess Tomoyo had complained of a stomach from the moment she woke up. It wasn't until later that afternoon when she had stood from studying a scroll and turned, only for Kurogane to see blood soaked through the back of her kimono. It first he had thought she was sick, but then Souma came in and he had to sit and listen to her explain what had happened. It was uncomfortable to say the least.

"You think so?"

"Yeah."

The blonde nodded slowly, then made a face.

"Eww…"

Kurogane smirked, but the corner of his mouth quirked up into an almost-smile.

"That's… yeah."

Kurogane easily lifted the mattress and flipped it in place, sending up a cloud of dust when he dropped it.

"C'mon."

He nudged Fai out of the room ahead of him.

The rest of the day passed painfully uneventfully. Kurogane couldn't get his and Fai's little 'moment' out of his head, but the kids didn't work that day and so they were never alone. Then when they went to work, their last night of work of the week, something finally did happen, although not to Kurogane.

His job was decidedly easy and, if pressed, he would probably admit that he didn't mind it. All he had to do was hang around the club, break up any fights that started and if anyone got too drunk he escorted them out. It was actually somewhat boring; sure he got to fight a little bit, but drunken idiots weren't much of a challenge except for the fact that he wasn't allowed to seriously hurt anybody. Still, Fai's job as a bartender gave him plenty of opportunities to talk to people and see if anyone knew about anything strange happening in the city.

For a Sunday night the club was pretty full but surprisingly calm. Kurogane watched people dance and laugh and talk, his gaze occasionally flipping to Fai, behind the bar across the room. It was long, with a black marble countertop. There were two other people working behind it with him; a girl with long white hair and blue eyes like Fai's in the center and another man, larger, with black hair on the other end. They were talking and laughing to each other while shaking tumblers over their shoulders and, in the case of the girl, flirting exurbanite tips out of their customers. Actually, Fai was probably doing it as well, seeing as he had the regrettable habit of flirting with everything that moved. Kurogane didn't think he did it on purpose, that was just the way he acted.

He watched Fai and the girl put on something of a show; they were both dancing to the annoying, bubble-gum-pop song that the D.J. had just put on and they were laughing and shouting to each other. The boy on the other end of the bar shouted something at the both of them. He sounded annoyed but he was smirking slightly. The girl whipped around and shrieked something at him and Fai stuck out his tongue out in a tease. The girl picked something up and threw it at the boy and she and Fai laughed as it bounced off of his head. He gave them both the finger, but laughed along with them.

Kurogane turned away, glad Fai seemed relatively happy. The blood had obviously made him uneasy this afternoon, but he seemed to get along with his coworkers. Sakura had asked about them the day before and Fai said that he'd lay money on one of them seriously injuring the other at some point. Not on purpose, just because they fought a lot. He said it was fun to watch though.

Now that he was thinking about Fai, Kurogane couldn't stop from thinking about what had happened that afternoon. If they were alone, would it happen again on its own? If not, would he make it? Did he want it to?

His thoughts were interrupted when his earpiece, their employer had called it a blue-tooth, came to life with a voice. The blue tooth allowed him to communicate with other bouncers, employees and apparently the bartenders, judging by the way the kid with the black hair was waving at him while he spoke.

"_You Kurogane?_"

"Yeah, what?"

He watched him stop waving and go back to work, measuring liquors and pouring them into a tumbler with unnecessary flourish as he spoke.

"_Uhh, listen, someone's giving your friend a hard time and he's refusing help. Just thought I'd let'cha know."_

"Alright, thanks."

Kurogane sighed and picked his way through the crowd of happy, dancing couples. He looked to Fai's section of the bar and spotted his problem without any great effort. There was a man, older, with brownish-blonde hair and green-blue eyes who was drunk off his ass and practically leaning over the counter, trying to talk to Fai, who wasn't giving him the time of day.

Kurogane knew from experience that Fai could only handle being catcalled for so long; it happened occasionally in different worlds and, while it was usually his fault, Fai didn't like when it got out of hand. Guys got handsy, girls got clingy, anything that he couldn't control he didn't like. He also seemed to feel bad about putting a stop to it.

So he watched as Fai tried his best to ignore the man, only to suddenly whip his head to stare at the man, a flush creeping across his face. When Kurogane drew closer, he heard why.

"C'mon sweetheart, how much?"

_Fuck._

He watched Fai toss him a blood freezing glare that he didn't really know the blonde was capable of before returning to ignoring him. Kurogane closed the distance as the girl started talking to Fai.

"Sweets, switch stations with me, I'll deal with him."

"No, it's fine, I can handle it."

So it was a pride thing? Kurogane rolled his eyes as he slammed his hand down on the man's shoulder, making him jump. The sudden motion caught Fai's eye and he turned just as Kurogane pulled the man up from his seat. His face flushed red.

"Up. Let's go. Now."

"Wha..? But I-"

"Move."

Kurogane locked the man's arm behind his back when he resisted and pushed him to the front. He started to speak, but the ninja beat him to it.

"Shut your mouth and keep moving."

He took him towards the front and gave him a hard shove out the entrance. Sometimes he didn't mind his job.

**Whew, that actually took pretty long even though I'm a fast typist(if I do say so myself, lol) Remember to review and tell me if you liked/hated it^^ Also, remember to check me out on deviant art . com (without the spaces, you know the drill) and remember my user name is the same^^**

**ありがとう,**

**ハッピーハロウィン**

**ShingetsuXMangetsu**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey^^ Here are review responses for the last chapter:**

**To Cased In Darkness:**

**OMG, you reminded me that I have to wrap this up in four chapters lol... forget about not making it, you're probably gonna get fifteen pages of writing in the last chapter... Anyway *recovers from panic attack* Thanks, I'm glad you liked it^^**

**To BettWitford:**

**I don't care if you _are _a ninja, if you can come up with a better way to explain the blood stain that isn't murder or anything else violent, let me know and maybe when I edit this for next year I'll use it. Kuro-chu just jumped to conclusions after a traumatic childhood experience^^ **

At the end of the night, Kurogane took it upon himself to go to the bar and collect Fai, who if left to his own devices would stand there and talk to the two other bartenders for the rest of night. As he approached, the boy moved away and the girl's eyes immediately flicked up to him. Kurogane was slightly impressed that she could find him so quickly, even though he was still across the mostly empty room. Without taking her eyes off of him, she nudged Fai and said something to him. Fai's head snapped up and Kurogane saw him flush and shake is head. Kurogane moved out of their line of sight but still got closer, just in time to hear the girl speak.

"I don't know sweets; he took it awfully personally when the prick gave you a hard time…"

She moved off with a wicked grin and called over her shoulder.

"See you next week honey!"

"Bye!"

Fai grabbed a rag and wiped something up off his end of the counter. Kurogane decided to wait for him with a smirk.

The subway ride home was crowded to Kurogane's annoyance. Even the elevator up was shared with a few others. He at least expected the kids to be asleep when they entered the apartment, but when they opened the door the kitchen light was on and Sakura was standing over a pot on the stove. Syaoran was next to her and Mokona was sitting on his head. Fai walked over with a smile.

"It's a little late to be cooking, don't you think?"

Sakura smiled.

"I noticed you guys didn't eat last night and I felt bad so I decided to have something ready for when you got back. Fai-san, will you taste it and tell me if it needs anything?"

"Of course Sakura-chan."

Fai took a small spoon and tasted the stew, his face lighting up as he did.

"It's perfect, what did you use?"

"Just some crushed red pepper, some garlic, a little thyme…"

Kurogane drowned them out as they continued to analyze the recipe. They continued to talk as they dished it out and they all ate together. Fai eventually excused himself to take a shower and as soon as Kurogane heard him leave the bathroom, he went to take one himself.

He turned the water on as high as it would go. True to form, it was almost impossible to get hot water there, not in the kitchen sink and certainly not in the shower. But if you turned it on as high as it would go and waited a few minutes, you could get some decent steam.

He waited for the stall to become sufficiently fogged before stepping in. Once under the jet stream he closed his eyes and just let the water run over him. They didn't have showers in Nihon. The closest things were the hot springs which were wonderful in their own right, but didn't compare when faced with a shower.

With the stall door closed all he could hear was the echo of thousands of drops of water. It was almost disorienting to focus on it, but he did. He stood completely still and listened to the quiet sound become deafening, becoming absorbed in the sound of water hitting the faux-porcelain bottom of the stall.

He zoned out for five minutes at least. Then, out of the white noise came something more defined; a squeak, low in volume but high in pitch. He listened harder, completely alert, but couldn't hear it again. He eventually passed it off as a mouse in the wall. He knew he locked the bathroom door out of force of habit and he knew that if someone had come in, he would've heard it. He continued his shower, noise forgotten…

Until he heard it again. This time, he automatically traced the sound, tracking it with his eyes down and to the right. He turned and saw it.

Traced in the fog in the bottom right corner of the glass shower door was a small heart. Kurogane stared, trying to figure out how it could possibly have gotten there. Then he stiffened as he saw finger tip pressed to the outside of the glass and turned light pink from pressure before dragging down and drawing a ragged crack down the center of the heart, producing the same low squeak he'd heard before.

_A broken heart._

Without thinking, the ninja through open the door and looked around the tiny, conspicuously empty, room. He walked over, ignoring the running water and checked the door.

_Locked._

He turned back to the shower door and his breath caught. The shape was much less defined, but the 'broken heart' was definitely still there although now it looked as though it could have been a trick of the water, bouncing off of him and running together in an odd pattern. He watched as droplets continued to run into it, somehow not disrupting the heart outline but further dividing the space inside.

_Shattered._

As soon as the thought entered his mind, a large bead of water came and swept the image away. He stared at it for a moment almost expecting it to reappear, but it didn't. With a sigh and a shake of his head he returned to the shower and finished, periodically checking the glass for signs of images he knew wouldn't appear. It had been a fluke; he stood under the shower a certain way and splashed the glass. As for the pale finger tip… He _was_ tired… He had probably just imagined it.

**Oooh, creepy! I though of that while I was in the shower and I heard something weird. I never actually found out what it was, but I'm willing to blame either my downstairs neibors or my cat^^ Not much ot say except review Review REVIEW^^**

**ありがとう,**

**ハッピーハロウィン**

**ShingetsuXMangetsu**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey^^ Today's chapter is super long and it took a long time so please review^^ It's a little scary in the beginning then sort of funny (in my opinion) towards the end. The last three chapters will be scary though. Three chapters left *squeals* Here are review replies:**

**To: Ninja Mafia Mistress (wicked name btw^^)-**

**Thanks, I'm glad you liked it^^**

**To:Tarmachan-**

**See, now that you're thinking about it, you might see something ;)**

**To: BrettWitford-**

**Stuff it.**

**Jk, what I mean to say is: They already _know_ it's blood. Although, next time round I'll probably use the tail end of your explanation (it's old=who cares?) just to avoid having to write that again. Yes, I'll admit it was a stupid explanation *nods in agreement* thanks^^**

When Kurogane went to the bedroom, he found that Fai had already fallen asleep. He was on his stomach, blonde hair fanned around his head and blankets bunched up around him. Kurogane couldn't help but smile before lying down next to him and falling asleep.

That night, Kurogane woke to find that instead of latching onto him as he usually did Fai was turned away, practically curling in on himself. He was shaking as well and Kurogane realized that not only was that what had woken him, but also that Fai was till asleep. He heard the slightest of whispering and unconsciously leaned closer, listening to the blondes dream.

"Ashura… Stop… Why are you doing this, please..?"

It dawned on him that Fai was having a nightmare. He continued to whisper to himself and rolled to face Kurogane, eyes still closed, still asleep.

His face looked terrified, like if he were awake he could just burst into tears. It was so different to see Fai asleep; he didn't have the presence of mind to hide his emotions so everything was raw and real. When he was scared, he actually _looked_scared. After five minutes of watching him look scared, Kurogane couldn't take it anymore. He reached out and touched Fai's shoulder, gently shaking him awake.

Fai shot up with a sharp intake of breath. His eyes darted around the room before settling on Kurogane and closing with a sigh. Slowly he fell back onto the pillow, releasing the breath he had caught. His arms went up and he crossed them over his eyes. A car backfired outside and Fai slowly calmed his breathing.

"You okay?"

"Yes," He nodded without moving his arms. "It was only a dream."

"What was your dream?"

Fai's entire body stiffened mid-breath, like he hadn't expected Kurogane to ask. How could he not?

"Just a nightmare… I don't even remember it…"

Kurogane sighed.

"That's not true, why are you lying to me?"

"I'm not."

Fai's response came much too quickly for it to be true.

"I'm not." He tried again, "I really don't remember."

"Alright, don't tell me."

Fai didn't open his eyes, but his face flickered with guilt as he responded.

"It was just a dream Kuro-chu. I really don't remember."

"Okay."

Kurogane laid back down, moderately annoyed. He knew the name Ashura was a source of fear in Fai's mind and he knew he wouldn't forget a dream about him that easily. And the blonde was still visibly upset despite all his denials; dreams you don't remember can't upset you after you wake up.

But he also felt bad for the mage; experiencing something so horrible he didn't want to talk about it and then being made to feel guilty about it… Now that Kurogane thought about it he realized his questioning, although well meaning, had probably only made him feel worse.

Feeling somewhat guilty himself he rolled over to face the blonde again, make sure he wasn't _too_ upset. He almost screamed.

In fact, if he hadn't spent his entire life being trained _not_to scream when startled, he probably would have. For an instant, a split second, Fai was dead. He was lying on his side facing Kurogane and he was covered in blood. In the second he had to analyze the picture before him, he saw stab wounds in his chest and small, almost delicate gash in his throat. His eyes were open, but they were dead, frozen in fear.

And then they weren't, and he was hearing his name.

"Kuro!"

Fai was sitting before him, eyes wide and worried and very much alive. His chest was perfectly intact and the blood was gone. Everything was fine.

_What the hell was that?_

"Y-you were dead…"

"What are you talking about?"

"What?"

"Kuro, what are you talking about? You looked at me and shot backwards! I thought you were going to scream…"

"I don't scream."

Kurogane muttered automatically without any thought. Then he continued.

"I… You were dead. I saw you, you were bleeding and it looked like you had been stabbed…"

Fai's eyes widened and he hiccupped in surprise.

"That was… that was my dream."

"What?"

They were sitting up in the center of the bed, facing each other. Fai looked absolutely horrified and Kurogane felt the same. His vision had been disturbing and then to find out that Fai had dreamed it as well was surreal.

"That was my dream!" Fai was too startled and surprised to censer himself. "That I was stabbed in … the chest…"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why, in your dream, were you stabbed?"

Then, when Fai hesitated, a better question popped into his head, one he already knew the answer to.

"Who stabbed you?"

Fai looked away.

"Answer me."

Fai shook his head without making eye contact. Kurogane's patience snapped.

"Ashura."

He simply repeated the name he had heard Fai pleading with moments before, but the blonde's head snapped up and he looked like he was about to cry.

"How did you..?"

"You say his name in your sleep a lot."

"Oh…"

It occurred to Kurogane that Fai honestly didn't realize how much he knew.

"What was your dream?"

No answer. Kurogane was determined though. Something about his vision or hallucination, whatever it was, had instilled a sense of urgency in him. But Fai was having none of it. He needed to get his attention. He knew how.

"_Fai_."

Fai winced like he'd been struck.

"_I don't remember."_

His voice cracked as he spoke and he sounded more like he was trying to convince himself. Kurogane sighed.

"I just don't understand why you can't tell me."

"There's nothing to tell."

Kurogane nodded.

"Whatever you say…"

Kurogane dismissed the remnants of his dream-yes, that's what he had decided it was: A dream he had been about to have but hadn't quite fallen asleep for-and gently, not quite believing he was actually doing it, he reached out and touched Fai's shoulder, turning him to face the same direction and guiding him down to lay alongside him. When the blonde didn't resist, Kurogane hesitantly wrapped his arm around him, pulling him backwards and curling around him. Fai stiffened at first, but when the ninja's movements stopped he relaxed, heaving a small sigh of contentment. Until the moment he fell asleep, Kurogane was left wondering if Fai was just happy the questions had stopped, or if he was truly comfortable.

Kurogane woke quite happily the next morning to a mess of blonde hair directly in front of his chin. He was holding Fai from behind, the smaller being curling backwards into him and for once, the room had an atmosphere of calm. An atmosphere that was only broken when Kurogane saw the dried tear-tracks on Fai's cheeks. Fai was notoriously good at hiding his emotions, so for him to cry Kurogane knew last night was pretty bad.

They lay there for a few moments before Fai began shifting, ultimately rolling away from Kurogane before waking up. The ninja watched him yawn like a cat from behind.

"Good morning, Kuro-sama."

"Good morning."

It didn't sound like a lot, but Kurogane's usual greeting was a grunt. Fai rolled to face him, showing off the strains of the last night.

Delicate violet half-moons sat under tired blue eyes, disrupted with tear-tracks that continued onto slightly-paler-than-usual skin. The worst part by far though was the plastic smile that cracked below everything else. That was bad; that told the ninja that his chance was done. In the daylight, his mind clear, there was no way Fai would let Kurogane get anything out of him. The blonde had too many excuses, too many things he could use to get away, and Fai's one quality that Kurogane found completely and totally ass-holien was his stubbornness.

He watched Fai sit up, his hair in every direction, and sat up with him, deciding to try anyway.

"So, are you going to tell me anything else?"

"Kuro, it's a little early to be thinking about all of this. I have to go make breakfast for-"

"The kids aren't up yet, don't change the subject. Besides, I think this was different from your usual dreams."

Once again, letting him know how much he knew startled Fai, who turned away.

"What makes you say that?"

Kurogane maneuvered smoothly in front of him.

"It's been a while since I've had to wake you up from a dream-"

"You've woken me up before?"

Kurogane flushed involuntarily.

"A couple of times towards the beginning when you were getting them a lot. I… I'd just wake you up and leave so you wouldn't notice. You only noticed last night because I stayed with you."

"Oh…"

"Usually you say other names in your sleep… Chi was one of them. You say your own name a lot."

Kurogane, who was slightly embarrassed by how much attention he had been paying, watched Fai wince and open his mouth, probably to change the subject. The ninja dropped his open palm on Fai's head. Not hard enough to hurt, just enough to get his attention.

"Now if you would shut up you'd realize that I'm not trying to make you talk about that, your past. You already know I don't give a shit about any of that. I'm talking about last night. You don't even have to use names."

Fai was looking at his lap, kneading his fisted hands into the bed like a kitten. He was nervous, thinking…

_Considering_

Kurogane realized, which was further than he had ever gotten before.

"I… don't remember."

The ninja sighed.

"I can sit here all day blondie…"

Fai looked up and bit his lip. Hard.

"Oi."

No reaction.

"Quite that! You're gonna make yourself bleed!"

Nothing.

"Your saying you'd rather make yourself bleed than tell me?"

Guilt crossed Fai's face at his statement and he let up on his lip. That gave Kurogane an idea, which he felt somewhat bad about even having. But he had noticed that Fai's driving force in a lot of his actions was guilt. He didn't want to hurt anybody. Kurogane mentally berated himself about what he was about to do, but in the end he decided that Fai manipulated people all the time for much less important things. He tried to remember why this was important, but all he could come up with was that he wanted to know.

After a moment's hesitation, Kurogane allowed just the slightest twinge of _hurt_to cross his face. After all, that wasn't really a lie; he was slightly hurt that after all this time Fai still didn't trust him, he was just choosing to show it for once. The blonde ought to know anyway.

Fai watched him and he saw the tell-tale guilt cross his face.

"I don't remember… _a lot_…"

"But you do remember_ some..?"_

A slow nod as Fai turned his face away.

"All I remember is the end."

"Yeah?"

"He killed me…"

"Who killed you?"

"You said I didn't have to use names."

"Ashura?"

A pause.

"…yes."

His eyes closed and Kurogane thought that was it, and then…

"But you were right."

His eyes slid open.

"Something was different."

"Such as..?"

"It was here."

"What do you mean?"

"It was… usually in my dreams, I'm home. But last night I was here, in this world. And I was wearing this world's clothes and so was he. It was strange."

Kurogane nodded, not quite believing how much Fai was telling him. Kurogane watched him continue, noticing how carefully he chose his words, trying not to give too much away.

"I wasn't myself. It felt like I was an image; same body, same clothes, different circumstances."

"How did you-"

"Mokona is _veeery_ hungry!"

The ninja cursed inwardly as he heard the kids moving about in the other room. He was about to finish his question when he saw that Fai was already up, half way across the room.

"Coming!"

Kurogane sighed and eventually followed.

That day was pleasantly warm as they walked through the city together.

"C'mon manju, anything?"

"Mokona is sorry! Mokona can't feel anything now!"

"Maybe we should just go back for now…"

Fai sighed, earning a concerned look from Sakura, who had noticed right away how tired he was and readily agreed.

When they stepped into the apartment, Fai stopped and stiffened.

"It's _freezing_ in here!"

Kurogane rolled his eyes.

"So? It's always cold here, where the hell have you been?"

"Outside," Fai answered, matter-of-factly, "Where it's warm for once. It shouldn't be so-"

"Guys?" Syaoran interrupted, "The _hallway's_ warm…"

Sakura went over and gasped.

"It is! I wonder why…"

Kurogane leveled a glare at Fai.

"Now look what you've started. You're all exciting yourselves. The glass of the widows is thin; we're probably getting a draft. The hall way is inside the building, it has lots of insulation. It's not magic or anything…"

Fai nodded slowly, clearly thinking. Before Kurogane could ask, Mokona interrupted.

"Mokona thinks we should ask someone else if _their_ apartment is cold!"

"That's a good idea Mokona."

Fai agreed, smiling.

"We could ask one of our neighbors if their apartment is cold as well."

The ninja's brow bunched.

"Of course it will be-"

"Since he's head of household, I vote that Kuro-daddy asks. All in favor?"

Mokona shouted 'aye' and the kids looked at each other until Fai motioned at them to raise their hands. They both did so without question. Fai laughed; Kurogane growled.

"No, this is stupid. What does it prove if the apartment is cold or not?"

Fai bit his lip.

"It proves whether ours being cold is normal or not. But if Kuro-sama really doesn't want to ask, then I will…"

Fai was obviously thinking something though, and now Kurogane wanted to know what.

"Oh I'll do it, but I still don't think it makes a difference."

He strode over to the door next to theirs, apartment fourteen, and gave a few harsh knocks. Mokona slipped back into their apartment and they waited. It was a few moments before the sound of a dead-bolt clicking back let them know they weren't being ignored.

The cracked open as far as a thin chain would allow and a small elderly woman pushed her face into the gap. She looked frail, with thin grey hair and light hazel eyes. She looked like she could have blown away with the breeze. She seemed frightened as she stared up at Kurogane, the only person her vantage point allowed her to see.

"C-can I help you?"

"Yeah," The ninja was aware of the intimidation he was causing, but he didn't really care. He was feeling slightly idiotic about his upcoming question and wanted it over.

"We were wondering if your apartment was cold."

"C-cold?"

The woman looked at him like she expected him to force his way in at any moment.

"Cold. Like snow."

His attitude seemed to change something in her and she glared at him, fear turned to annoyance.

"I _know _what the word _cold_ means, thank you very much."

Kurogane sighed.

"If you know than just answer the question-"

"Kuro-rin, remember your manners!"

"Who else is out there?"

The woman now seemed more curious than anything else. Kurogane huphed and side-stepped, showing her the rest of his little group. As she squinted at them, she saw Syaoran first who gave a small bow, then Sakura who smiled warmly and finally Fai, who did both. When she saw him, her eyebrows went up.

"Young man?"

Syaoran stepped forward and she waved him away with a roll of her eyes.

"Not you, _you."_

She jerked her chin at Fai.

"Come closer so I can see you."

Fai did as he was told and the woman squinted further.

"Do I know you? You seem familiar…"

"We live next door-"

"No, no… I remember you from a long time ago."

There was an uncomfortable silence as she examined his face. Then the door closed. The all stared at each other until they heard the chain drop and the door swung all the way open, letting them see the woman's back as she toddled into the apartment.

"I'll just have to have you in for tea."

The inside of the apartment was entirely white and pink, with little red rosettes where space allowed. Every available surface was covered with figurines of children and angels and the occasional kitten. There was a strong smell of stale potpourri.

"Have a seat in the living room, anywhere is fine."

There were two small couches in the living room, both pink and white striped except for the clear plastic covers that were on _every_upholstered item. Syaoran and Sakura sat stiffly on one and Fai sat down on the other, patting the spot next to him for Kurogane.

The ninja however was having an internal battle between his need for comfort and his need for _dignity_. Fai stepped in as the ref.

"Kuro, be polite or I'll tell her not to give you a cookie with your tea…"

"I don't want a friggin' cookie…"

He grumbled as he dropped next to Fai, the force making the slighter man fall sideways. He was louder than he thought though.

"I wasn't planning on giving him one anyway, so rude…"

The woman called from the kitchen where they could hear her filling a kettle with water from the tap.

Kurogane cursed in annoyance and turned to Fai who had just managed to right himself.

"Why are we still even here? We're inside, we already know that… it's… warm…"

Fai winked.

"Now we're figuring out why."

With the kettle on the stove, the woman returned and settled a plate full of small sandwiches on the coffee table, adjusting a cherub doll to make room, before taking one and lowering herself into a large plastic-covered armchair. For all her snipes and barbs she seemed to have a very hard time maneuvering herself. Once seated she gestured for them to help them selves and they did, Kurogane only after Fai poked him in the ribs, teasing comment poised on his lips. Kurogane cut him off though by shoving his sandwich the rest of the way into his mouth and grabbing one with a growl. The woman conveniently waited for all of their mouths to be full before starting a conversation.

"So I assume you've found out what you were wondering?"

"Yes."

Fai managed after quickly swallowing what Kurogane assumed was mostly un-chewed sandwich. Ingrained manners were going to kill him at some point, Kurogane decided, or at least get him a lung-full of bread*

"Your apartment is…" Fai searched for the word, clearly thinking of several and passing them over. He settled on:

"Lovely…"

She smiled.

"Oh thank you dear."

"Yes," Sakura quickly agreed, "I love the colors."

Syaoran looked slightly ill and Kurogane was left to debate if she meant it or was just being polite. Either way, their host didn't seem to appreciate it.

"You shouldn't repeat another's complement so quickly, child. It comes off entirely insincere."

There was silence as they all tried to figure out what had just happened. Sakura spoke first.

"O-oh… I'm… sorry..?"

She looked to Syaoran to see what she had done wrong and the boy offered a subtle shrug. Then the woman seemed to have had enough of them and turned back to Fai.

"I'm Ruby, by the way."

"Ruby," Fai repeated, dropping the honorific as they had earned to in some worlds. "My name is Fai and this is Sakura, Syaoran and Kuro-"

"-gane."

The ninja finished for him to avoid any misunderstandings. He knew better than to let Fai perform introductions. Ruby offered them each a brief nod as Fai gestured to them before looking back at him.

"May I ask why you wanted to know if my apartment was warm?"

"_We_," Fai reiterated, "were interested because our apartment is so cold."

She nodded.

"You live in apartment thirteen, right?"

"Yes, _we_ do."

Ruby shook her head at him.

"Thirteen… That's a bad number you know, bad luck."

"Yeah, we get it."

Kurogane piped up form his disgruntled slouch nest to Fai. She was just going to scare the kids. Ruby looked at him.

"You're not very bright, are you?"

"What the he-"

Fai placed a calming hand on his arm without turning around.

"Yes, we've been told it's very unlucky. We certainly haven't been having much luck lately…"

He looked away as if lost in thought and Kurogane grinned. Forget magic, Fai's number on skill had to be manipulating a conversation.

"How so?"

Ruby was now the picture of concern, sitting forward, eyes trained on Fai.

"Well… we're looking something, something important, but we're having a very hard time tracking it down…"

"Could I help you?"

"No… well," Fai's face visibly brightened. It was all a mask, Kurogane knew, but it was very believable.

"You might. What we're looking for might cause strange things to happen where it goes. Ruby, can you think of anything strange happening lately?"

Kurogane smirked. Leave it to the elderly not to ask _what_ they were looking for or why they needed it or even why it was important.

"Like the temperature?"

Ruby asked hopefully. Fai hesitated.

"…Sure. Just something strange, that wouldn't normally happen."

"Well, lately I haven't been able to get _any_ hot water."

Her tone suggested that this was a punishable crime. Fai nodded sympathetically.

"Neither have we."

He looked around.

"Was…was that all?"

Kurogane could have laughed at Fai's face. He was obviously regretting the situation.

"Oh no," Ruby continued. "I was talking to Estelle in apartment twenty-four and she says she can't get any either. The super says that the hot water heater is fine and it's probably because the water tower is on the roof and it's so cold out, but today was warm and it's still freezing!"

"Right…"

"And then there's the electric!"

"The electric?"

Fai asked desperately.

"Yees, yes, you haven't noticed that the lights flicker?"

"Oh, right…"

"Just the other day I was having lunch with Edna in forty and the lights went out completely! Not just one bulb, all of them! Right in the middle of my story too; what was I telling her…"

In the background the kettle began to rattle. Ruby continued.

"Oh right! I was telling her how the other night I was trying to fall asleep and I hear footsteps out in the hall! At three in the morning! And then there was crying-"

The kettle buzzed louder.

"Um, Ruby? Your kettle…"

"I mean, people could learn to be considerate of their neighbors. If you're going to cry, stay in your apartment!"

Sakura stood to get the kettle before the water evaporated but Ruby stopped her.

"Excuse me we're in the middle of a conversation you shouldn't just leave."

"I'm sorry, but your kettle-"

She didn't get to finish her sentence though as the kettle exploded with a loud bang and all three light bulbs on the fan over their heads burst.

The bursting light bulbs were startling, but it was late afternoon and so thin grey light filtered in through the drawn blinds. Everyone seemed frozen in place for a moment before Ruby snapped.

"Well, don't just sit there, I'm an old woman, I can't reach the floor to wipe it you children go clean it!"

Everyone sat stock still, concerned as to what might happen if they moved.

"Why don't you let me take care of it?"

Fai moved to stand and the woman reached out and put her hand on his knee.

"Oh you're such a nice young man, but you stay hear and talk to me, we were having such a nice conversation. The rest of you should make yourselves useful."

Fai looked slightly disappointed and Kurogane realized he was probably looking for a polite way to end their 'nice conversation'. But Ruby was desperate to talk to someone it seemed and she didn't seem too ready to let Fai go. Kurogane decided to go and figure something out later.

"We'll get it."

He stood and ushered the confused children with him, almost laughing at Fai's confused face.

Kurogane grabbed a rag and finished wiping off a countertop. He glanced back in the living room to check on Fai. He was smiling and being polite but he looked positively miserable. Ruby wasn't listing supernatural occurrences, she was listing complaints. Fai was trying so hard to seem interested-no, to _be_ interested, but he couldn't seem to bring himself to end the conversation. Apparently he understood that she was a lonely old woman who wanted someone to talk to and that made it impossible in his mind to leave. The ninja had had enough.

"Oi, you two go home, I'll rescue the mage."

Without so much as a question Syaoran and Sakura ducked out the front door and Kurogane worked up the right amount of concern before striding into the living room.

"The princess burnt her hand on the kettle really bad, I think you should go look at it."

"Oh!"

Fai jumped up in the middle of Ruby's sentence.

"Ruby it was lovely meeting you but I have to go."

"Oh that's alright sweetie, you just come back and visit me soon okay?"

"Uh-huh."

Fai was up and out the door before Kurogane could get a hold of him. He reached the apartment before him as well and went strait to Sakura, grabbing her hand and examining it.

"Let me see it. Does it hurt? How long were you-"

Sakura was watching Fai with a slightly confused expression and Kurogane stepped in.

"Oi, mage, calm down. No one burnt anything."

Fai looked at him.

"Why did you-"

"For as much of a bastard as you are, you are really fucking polite. You'd have sat there and talked to her all day if I'd let you."

Fai processed the information, a slow grin spreading across his face.

"Kuro-chu learned how to be subtle, I'm so… proud!"

Just as Kurogane was about to come back at him there was a knock at the door. They all looked at each other and Kurogane muttered as he strode over to the door.

"If she followed you she can have you."

He opened the door to an older woman, certainly not ruby though, in her mid seventies. She had dark salt-and-pepper hair and deep ocean blue eyes. She was thin but not frail and her face was lined but determined.

"I think I can help you."

***BrettWitford knows where this came from lol. Yeah, I'm that much of a spazz^^**

**Okay, Ruby is a hastily thought out Oc but I like her. Her apartment is based on the apartment of a friend of my grandmothers who lived in the same building (but certainly not her personality) I have a feeling old people would like Fai and I like the idea of SOMEONE not liking Sakura. I know she's a little weird, but basicaly her premise is that she's a lonely old complainer who likes Fai because he'll listen to her but she doesn't like the others. As for their visiter, you'll just have to wait^^**

**ありがとう,**

**ハッピーハロウィン**

**ShingetsuXMangetsu**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey^^ Not too terribly long today (I have to go find finishing touches for my halloween costume^^) but here you go^^ This is the third Oc I'm introducing from A Retelling. I don;t know why I like doing that, but I do^^ And now for review responses:**

**To Ninja Mafia Mistress:**

**Thanks I'm glad you liked it^^**

**To Cased In Darkness:**

**No worries, I', just happy you liked it^^ Yes, I like reading long chapters too (You read like me lol) I'm so happy people liked Ruby! She was a five minute concept that spun out of control!**

**To BrettWitford:**

**Third to Brain-full-of-biscotti lol^^**

**To alguien22792:**

**You reviewed three chapters in one night, I'm impressed^^ Yes, I always wanted Kurogane to make fun of Sakura. I don't know why I like doing stuff to her but she's my least favorite character (after mokona, lol. HATE the voice in the anime) I'm glad you liked Ruby^^ I update daily so you don't even have to beg^^**

**ENJOY^^**

"I think I can help you."

The woman stepped over the threshold and Kurogane let her.

"I couldn't help overhearing part of your conversation with _Ruby,_" There was no small amount of distain in her voice. "and I think I can help you."

"How's that?"

Kurogane asked, eyeing the old woman suspiciously. He was not in the mood for more tea and insults.

"My name is Sylvia; I'm what's called a spiritual medium. I sense the souls of those who no longer belong to this plain but linger anyway. I should tell you that their presence is heavy here."

The ninja looked to Fai, thinking he would have a better understanding of what she was going on about. He spoke.

"I had a feeling that the bursting light bulbs weren't because of faulty wiring."

Sylvia gave a thin lipped smile and stepped further inside.

"You're quite correct."

They sat on the floor in the living room, ignoring the small beaten couch, all introductions out of the way. Sylvia spoke to all of them, but addressed Fai and Kurogane the most.

"A very long time ago I purchased something from a woman called The Dimensional Witch-"

"That's Yuuko!"

Mokona shot out of the bedroom to which it had been confined. Sylvia narrowed her eyes at it.

"Yes. I purchased an item but she told me that I would not provide compensation for a very long time. That was a few years ago and last night she spoke to me through my dreams. My payment is to help you all as much as I can."

Kurogane sighed.

"And did the Dimensional Bitch-"

"Kuro!"

"Say what she expected from _us_ for your 'help'"

Sylvia smiled at him, but there was an edge to it.

"She told me about you. No, you do not owe her anything for this as you are helping _me _settle _my_ debt. Although she's still waiting for her white day gifts…"

"Well she's not getting anything!"

Sylvia continued, ignoring him.

"You," She pointed to Fai, "are already quite skilled in magic. I'm sure you've sensed the presence of the dead in many of the occurrences lately?"

"Y-es… I have sensed something. But you'll have to excuse me; I've never really been very good with black magic, especially necromancy"

"But you understand the theory?"

"Perfectly."

"What occurrences are you talking about exactly?"

Kurogane interrupted again.

"Well," The woman raised her hand and began rattling things off on her fingers. "There was if course the first one, a full body apparition,"

She looked at Sakura.

"Your hallucination. Then there was the other night," She looked at Kurogane, "The presence in bed beside you. There were footprints in the kitchen and then of course your visitor in the bathroom last night and both of your visions."

"How the in the _hell_ do you know all of this?"

"Well," Sylvia spoke nonchalantly, as if it were perfectly acceptable for her to know their daily activities. "Of course I get a…a sense when ever these things occur and I live right across the hall so I felt it every time. The Dimensional Witch simply provided me with details last night… or rather early this morning, in my dream."

"How the hell did she know?"

"Mokona saw everything, Mokona thought Yuuko should know!"

"How did you see the one in the bathroom?"

"Heating ducts!"

Mokona shot across the room before the ninja could grab him and shimmied into one as an explanation. Kurogane groaned.

Fai spoke as Mokona dropped out of a vent across from the one it had entered.

"So you're saying this apartment is haunted?"

She nodded.

"Yes, there's quite a lot of spiritual activity."

"From how many?"

Sylvia looked surprised.

"Oh just one, yourself."

Fai raised his eyebrows.

"Myself?"

"I think it would be best if the young ones left the room; wouldn't want to give them a scare."

"Yes," Fai agreed, "Kuro-chii, why don't you take the kids and-"

"I'm staying mage, not up for discussion. Manju, out."

They all hesitated for a moment before taking Mokona and heading off towards the bedroom. Fai looked at Kurogane who still didn't move.

"I should hear too."

When Fai opened his mouth to argue, Sylvia helped the ninja out.

"No, he's right. Now, I know you already know about the existence of doubles-"

"Same body, same soul, different world."

"Exactly. And in this world there was a double of you. That's why Ruby thought you looked familiar. Many, many years ago you lived in this apartment. I remember you a little, but once you moved in I never saw you much. You lived here for two years with a man named Ashura and then you just… moved. I remember boxes being carried out and everything. But now your spirit is here. I don't know if you died after you moved and your spirit came back or if… you and your spirit never left. You must understand you never really left the apartment, I didn't notice if I saw you leave or not. Either way your spirit is trapped here for one reason or another and since you came it has been trying desperately to contact you. That's all I've figured out so far, for everything else we have to contact the spirit and for that I need you. I'm sure you understand why..?"

"To establish a link."

Fai answered automatically. Sylvia nodded and stood with an ease one did not expect from someone her age.

"Yes. Now, I'm going to run back to my apartment for a minute and grab some things and then we'll give it a go."

She turned and moved quickly to the door and into the hall, not bothering to close it behind her. Kurogane turned to Fai.

"You knew? Why the hell didn't you say anything?"

Fai sighed, not bothering to smile.

"I didn't know, I never said I knew. I said I thought. I wasn't sure though, and I certainly didn't think it was myself. I didn't want to scare the kids over nothing and I didn't know if this world even accepts the concept of the dead among the living. Most worlds that use magic do and most worlds that don't… don't."

Changing the subject, but seeming genuinely interested, Fai asked.

"Did you have ghosts in Nihon?"

"Yes… no. Not everybody believed they were real, it was like a superstition. _I_ certainly didn't. I remember it was said that someone had to die a horrible death to become one."

Fai smiled humorlessly.

"Yes well, you'll find it's that way everywhere."

Kurogane was left to think for a moment, until something popped into his head.

"Wait," Kurogane asked, "When she said _your_ vision was she talking about-"

"My nightmare." Fai finished.

"Your ghost gave you the nightmare trying to communicate with you?"

"Yes, something like that…" Fai looked up at Kurogane. "I wasn't lying you know, I really don't remember most of that dream, just the end. I remember it was very long though… I think," Fai trailed off. He seemed to be talking more to himself than to Kurogane. "I think it's because I'm not a dream seer. Dream seers remember their dreams exactly because they are trained to. I was never trained in dream magic."

Kurogane nodded, once again not believing how much he was being told. He decided to press his luck.

"What about what you said earlier? Black magic?"

Fai surprised him with a sharp laugh, harsh and self-deprecating.

"No. I know a lot about it, I understand it and the procedures. I've always avoided performing it though. It requires occasionally opening yourself up to possession, both spiritual and demonic. I was never very good at it."

"Well I don't need you to be."

Sylvia barged in, carrying a thick flat wooden board and a small leather pouch.

"I just need you to know enough to help me. You know what this is, yes?"

She placed the board on the floor in front of them. It was thick, dark reddish wood with twenty-six characters carved into it.

"It's a _conseil d'administration esprit._"

Fai replied automatically. Kurogane wondered why Mokona didn't translate his phrase. Sylvia nodded.

"I don't understand what you just said, but the names of magical tools and props are dimension specific and usually can't be translated so I'll assume you said spirit board."

Fai smiled.

"Something to that affect yes. Something of that magical caliber couldn't be crafted and charmed so flawlessly in a world that doesn't commonly accept magic; I assume this is what you purchased from the Dimensional Witch?"

Sylvia smiled.

"Yes. The witch explained that you wouldn't be able to read this alphabet but I can so there shouldn't be any problems. I need you to act as the conduit, have you ever done that before?"

"Once," Fai nodded, "Maybe twice."

"You know the incantation?"

"Yes."

"What exactly are you going to do?"

Kurogane asked, causing Sylvia to sigh in exasperation like he was some small child that needed everything explained to them. Kurogane couldn't bring himself to give a shit.

"We want to find out what the spirit is waiting for, why it can't move on. It could be something it still has to do or it might not even know it's dead, that happens sometimes. Either way, this allows us to communicate with it," She tapped the board, "and figure out what we need to do."

It bothered the ninja slightly, how she kept referring to Fai's double's ghost as 'it'. Sylvia was nice enough, but she was very callous, efficient. Cold.

"Fai, are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Splendid."

"Kuro move back a little please. Dark magic can be unstable I don't want to accidentally kill you."

Kurogane twitched at Fai's dark humor.

"Are you sure you're okay? I thought you couldn't do magic."

"This isn't like what I usually do; I'm not drawing on my aura I'm drawing on the spirit's. As long as I'm not using my own aura I can handle it."

The ninja nodded and backed up, sitting a few feet away.

"A little more, Kuro-chu."

With a sigh he slid back a few more feet and, satisfied, Fai turned back to the board. He knelt in front of it and placed a thin slice of crystal on the edge, not touching any of the characters. Sylvia took a pad and pencil out of her pouch and Fai watched.

"You wouldn't happen to have any salt on there would you?"

Sylvia looked at him for a moment as if she were surprised before smiling and reaching back, producing a black pill box, presumably filled with salt.

"Other mediums I've talked to said it doesn't do anything but I've always liked using it. I didn't want to seem silly in front of such an accomplished magician though."

Fai smiled and accepted the box, opening it and sprinkling a fine stream of white crystals, making a perfectly even circle around the both of them in one practiced motion.

"No, it definitely does something. You can't control the spirits you attract when you do this, but you can keep demons from corrupting the line."

He knelt before the board again and placed his hands over the crystal, a few inches away, not touching it.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

The room chilled and Kurogane saw the two smile at each other. There was a sense of comradery between the two, even Kurogane could feel it. It must have had something to do with working magic.

"Someone else is ready too."

Sylvia murmured with a grin.

"I'm ready whenever you would like to begin."

Fai nodded and closed his eyes, breathing deeply. When he spoke, he didn't make a sound. Kurogane watched his lips move though, quick and precise. He spoke steadily without taking a breath for about thirty before taking a deep shuddering breath and freezing in place. Every muscle in his body stiffened and Sylvia spoke.

"Is there a presence among us that wishes recognition?"

Her voice was calm and low pitched but still loud and clear. As soon as she finished speaking, Fai's arms began to move. They were locked strait and moved from his shoulders, his hands hovering over, but not touching, the slice of crystal as it slid across the board, seemingly unaided. As it skimmed over the letters, it paused over three of them before retuning to the edge of the board. Sylvia sounded the letters out as she wrote them down on the pad.

"Y-e-s. Yes."

Fai's hair ruffled in a breeze that affected nothing else. Sylvia continued.

"What is you name?"

This time the crystal moved for longer and Sylvia didn't speak until she had finished writing down the message.

"Fai D. Flourite."

Even though Kurogane was aware of who they were talking to, it was still slightly chilling to here it. Sylvia continued.

"Fai, are you aware of whom you are addressing me through?"

There was a long pause before Fai moved again, marking the same three letters as before.

_Y-E-S_

Sylvia nodded.

"You have been trying to contact him." It was a statement, not a question. "Why is that?"

This time there were many letters and Kurogane waited impatiently for Sylvia to voice them.

"There are two reasons. The first is that you wish for him to know how you died."

There was another draft about Fai; Kurogane assumed it was a confirmation.

"And the second is that the thing keeping you here is the thing that's keeping him here as well. What do you mean by that?"

There was another pause. This time it lasted though, Fai not moving a muscle. Sylvia leant forward slightly.

"Fai?"

Nothing.

"Have we lost the conne-"

Fai's head slumped forward, not a great movement, but startling after almost ten minutes of sitting completely motionless. Kurogane jumped up and moved forward but Sylvia stopped him, panic in her voice.

"Stop!" She spoke, but nothing but her mouth moved, her eyes barely shifting to meet his. "If you break the circle it could kill him!"

****

****

Alright, two chappies left^^ I have to go shop now so please review^^

**ありがとう,**

**ハッピーハロウィン**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey^^ Second-to-last chapter *oh my gods* Tomorrow I'm all done... And it's Halloween! Happy Halloween to everybody! It's truly my favorite holiday. Also, gimme a shout out if you're going trick-or-treating even though someone told you you're 'too old'. You are never too old to dress up! I want to here about you're costumes guys! I'm gonna be a Gothic-Lolita-kitty-furry. My costume is EPIC *epic face* Anyway, please review and feel free to PM me about costumes/candy/ect. Any ways, on to review responses:**

**To Ninja Mafia Mistress:**

**Oh noes! Sorry ^^'**

**To BrettWitford:**

**Aw thanks^^ Didi I ever tell you I like the term "arc kick' better than 'round house'? I know it's inccorect, but I like the way it sounds better. I actuall said it in clas today and they all stared at me^^'**

**To yuukiwhitewolf:**

**Thanks^^ I'm glad you enjoyed it^^**

**To Cased In Darkness:**

**Well, now I'm not too fond of you either *fake glare*. Kidding obviously, I have to love you, you're a regular reviewer^^ And thanks for the compliment, I agree, all of my stories start out awkward and sometimes poorly written. It took me forever to get into the groove for this one... That's probably because I only knew how it ended two days ago ^^' _Hells yeah_ I think ahead (not)**

**To alguien22792:**

**Yes, Kuro-chii needs to work on his manners. I'm sure Fai will get right on that^^ I'm kind of glad everyones complaining about my cliffies, I always thought I was bad at writing them^^' (I'm making that face a lot tonight...)**

**ENJOY^^**

"Stop! If you break the circle it could kill him!"

Kurogane forced himself calm, staring at Fai's lifeless from. He had slumped all the way to the floor and was lying awkwardly on his side.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know."

When the ninja opened his mouth to yell at her, she cut him off with a shout of her own.

"I _do_ know what's happening, I just don't know how!"

She was clearly agitated which was less than comforting. She shook her head, calming herself.

"It might be possible simply because they have the same soul…"

"What might be possible?"

"Well… I'm positive he took precautions against complete possession, but he's currently… _sharing his mind…_"

"You mean possessed."

"No, not exactly; Possession would mean he was still conscious or at least appeared so and he would be moving. At the moment it looks like he's just having a vision. It shouldn't hurt him."

"_Shouldn't_?"

Sylvia sighed.

"I would be very surprised if it did."

The ninja eyed Fai carefully. His hair was obscuring his face and he was impossibly still. It took Kurogane a moment to realize why he seemed so _unbelievably_ still…

"_He's not breathing._"

Sylvia made a face.

"Of course he's not breathing," She snapped, "He's inhabited by the dead, the dead don't breath."

She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Kurogane was getting ready to come back at her when Fai, ever the mediator, jerked to life with a gasp of breath. He sat there panting, hands on the ground in front of him, his hair in his eyes. It took several minutes of gasping for him to catch his breath. When he did he looked up, turning his head to track down Kurogane before offering a small, real, smile.

"I know… I know where the feather is…"

They wasted no time, finding the kids and Mokona and following Fai who seemed to be slipping in and out of a trance.

Sylvia carried Mokona at first, seeming fascinated by it. Then it started talking and she looked at it the same way she had the first time she'd heard it 's voice and quickly foisted it off on Sakura, moving forward to join Kurogane and Fai.

Every few minutes Fai would stop completely and just stand, staring into space. Or worse, he'd pitch forward and Kurogane would have to scramble to make sure he didn't slam into the stairs ahead of him. After that happened a few times the ninja began walking close to him, keeping a hand at his back to prevent any accidents. Fai was in his own world and Kurogane was worried. He caught Sylvia's eye and she shrugged.

"The spirit is still trying to contact him but because he isn't trying to contact the spirit, it's only able to affect him at all because they share a soul."

Kurogane nodded. They were climbing the maintenance stairs at the center of the building. Kurogane had suggested the elevator, but Fai had snapped to just long enough to refuse, saying in his vision he had gone up the stairs. He was insistent that they needed to follow his vision exactly.

So they climbed the tan coated metal staircase for almost twenty minutes before Fai burst onto the roof ahead of them all. He immediately broke into a jog over the gravely surface, headed towards the large, rust red water tower on the corner of the roof. The others were forced to jog as well to keep up.

Half way there Fai yanked his shirt up over his head and tossed it to the side. Kurogane grabbed it out of the air though, forcing himself not to stare at Fai's pristine white chest or the light pink outlines on his back that marked where his tattoo had been.

"Are you insane? It's not _that_ warm!"

Then he realized where Fai was going.

"The water-"

"The feather is at the bottom."

Fai picked up his pace a little and Kurogane did the same.

"Idiot, you're not quite… normal yet, what if you black out? Let me go get it, I'll-"

"No," Fai shook his head without looking over. "You think you can make it up that ladder?"

Kurogane was going to ask what he was talking about until he noticed that yes, the ladder to the hatch at the top of the water tower was thin, rusted and falling apart. While he didn't doubt Fai would be able to climb it, there was no way it would take his weight.

Fai reached the base of the ladder and quickly pulled off his shoes and socks before testing the bottom rung. Satisfied that it wasn't going to dissolve into dust and blow away he launched himself upwards, practically leaping, skipping several rungs at a time and resembling the squirrels of their current world scaling trees.

Kurogane and the rest were left to watch. Sylvia tilted her face towards the tower and spoke, eyes closed.

"There certainly _is_ a strange power coming from that tower. It's not steady though…"

"Yeah!" Mokona shouted from Sakura's arms, "That's why Mokona couldn't find it even though it was right here! The water makes the power come out all wavy so even when we're right here it feels far away!"

Kurogane watched Fai reach the top of the ladder and pull himself onto the ledge that rimmed the top of the tower, right next to a small hatch. Actually, since the 'door' part of the hatch had rusted off, leaving only hinges, the ninja supposed it was just a hole.

Fai whirled around and gave them all a mock salute, catching Kurogane's eye as he did so before turning back and sliding into the opening. After a few seconds there was a faint, dull splash.

It was agonizing, the wait for Fai to reappear. It was only a few minutes but it felt like hours to everyone except for maybe Sylvia who apparently had no emotional stake in their task, seeming almost bored at having to wait. Sakura was not doing well though, fidgeting next to him and ringing her hands. Syaoran was next to her with a hesitant hand on her shoulder which she seemed to appreciate.

After five minutes of nervous silence, a pale hand reached up through the opening and felt around for a proper hand-hold on the edge. Successful, Fai pulled himself the rest of the way out of the tower and positioned himself to sit on the edge, holding Sakura's feather over his head.

Much to Kurogane's annoyance, Fai allowed himself to slide off of the towers edge on his but, letting himself fall a few feet before grabbing onto the ladder as he passed it and sliding down to meet them. As soon as his feet touched down he offered Sakura the feather with a wink.

"Look! And after only a week of living underneath of it!"

Sakura gigged and accepted it, or would have had Sylvia not stepped between her and Fai, not touching but stooping to examine the feather like a scientist.

"This makes sense; the thing keeping your spirit here was the same thing keeping you here."

Everyone looked at her and she explained with a pained sigh.

"This feather was keeping it here. When you die, your instinct is to go to the closest, strongest source of power which, at the time of death, should be the next plain. But if this feather was here than it's power would be closer and about as strong, so any spirits trying to cross over would be draw to it. Every time it tried to cross over, the spirit simply traveled to the roof."

Sakura looked miserable.

"That's so sad! Will he be able to cross over now?"

Sylvia attempted a smile, but she looked more like she was bearing her teeth.

"Yes, it shouldn't have any more problems."

"Fai what's that?"

Mokona shrieked and jumped down from Syaoran's head. Sylvia winced and turned to watch Syaoran help Sakura absorb the feather, asking questions.

Wha- oh!"

Mokona was pointing to something glinting in the sunlight, hanging from Fai's pocket.

"It was dark in there but I saw this reflected in the light from the feather. I just shoved it in my pocket."

He pulled it out, revealing a long, thin gold chain with a charm hanging off of it. Closer inspection revealed the charm to be a chunk of crystal with flat rays of gold shooting out behind it. It was exactly identical to the top of the staff that Fai had started their journey with.

"Looks familiar, doesn't it?"

He grinned at Kurogane and Sylvia looked up from where she was watching Sakura sleep after absorbing her feather, asking Syaoran if that was normal. Her eyes widened and she yelled.

"Drop it!"

The necklace dropped and Fai went with it.

After Fai passed out, Kurogane had taken the necklace from his cold hands and scooped him up, carrying him back down to their apartment flanked by Syaoran carrying Sakura and Sylvia was reluctantly carrying Mokona.

They'd set Sakura down on a bed and Fai had gone to the couch. Kurogane sat watching him with Sylvia, once again alarmed by his lack of movement.

"It's the dead-don't –breath thing again, right?"

She nodded.

"The spirit wasn't able to contact him, but when he started touching that charm, it became a link; something they had both touched. He's having another vision.

This time though it was four hours before Fai began to stir. It wasn't a gasping fit that started his breathing once more, but a slow calm intake of breath. His breathing was steady as he opened his eyes, tiredly.

He showed a small smile and it was completely real despite the tear rolling down his cheek. Kurogane was about to say something when Sylvia deposited herself between the two.

"What did you see?"

"My other self. My other life. My other death."

That night after everyone was recovered enough to walk, Mokona announced that it was ready to leave. They said their goodbyes and Sylvia gave them all a hug. Fai had insisted on making a quick batch of cookies and leaving them with an explanatory note at Ruby's door. When Kurogane asked if he'd like to pop in to say goodbye, he quickly declined.

They left the last months rent on the kitchen counter and moved into the center of the living room to give Mokona enough room. When the pentacle spread across the floor Fai jumped out just long enough to grab the necklace he'd left on the counter and hand it off to Kurogane quickly, even though there was no longer a reason for his spirit to contact him. Kurogane cast him a questioning look and Fai grinned with a wink.

"I think it would make an excellent White Day gift, don't you Kuro-sama?"

**Huh? It's... OVER? Not quite. So there's no more ghostly activity and everything is solved, but we still don't know a lot about this other-wordly Fai. Well fear not! The next and final chapter is special so don't skip out on me ya'll^^ Remember to tell me your costumes and while you're at it, your fav candy. I have a gigantic list of favorites, but I rattle off a few:**

**Twix, Nerds, Butterfingers, CRUNCH bars, gummie bears(I swear to the gods I ate my weight in those this afternoon lol...) Hot Tamales, SweetTarts and a thousand others.**

**I don't know why you guys needed to know that but I figured if I"m going to ask, I better tell. Anyways, please review^^ **

**Oh! Also, someone pointed out to me that My sign off appeared before the last line off the last chapter, but I fixed it so if you think you missed it you can go look. It's nothing particularly important, but ... you know... **

**ありがとう,**

**ハッピーハロウィン**

**ShingetsuXMangetsu**


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay, here we go, final chapter! I'm putting the full author's note and review responses at the end, so please read. Until then, enjoy!**

Fai shuddered as he felt that strange, invasive presence that had been plaguing him since he allowed himself to be entered that afternoon. Ever since then he'd felt his other self trying to reestablish the connection, trying to tell him how he had died. Fai didn't want to hear though; he didn't want to know what Ashura had done to him in this world. That would make it too difficult to pretend that Ashura wouldn't hurt him. He didn't want to acknowledge what he knew: Ashura was not the same person who'd taken him from the snow and ice, not in his world and not in any others. So when his spirit tried to tell him he had forced himself awake, sending himself into a fit of gasping. After that, his spirit continued to hound him, constantly trying to enter his mind, tell him what he knew. But once Fai knew where the feather was he blocked it, refusing to listen.

It wasn't until he'd touched the necklace, the necklace that had belonged to his other self, that he couldn't avoid it any longer. His vision clouded and he felt a wall of cold hit him with so much force that he felt like he was blown backwards.

_He felt like he was waking up from a long nap. His head felt foggy and he sat up, trying to remember what he had done last. He opened his eyes and looked around; He was standing on a patch of disembodied ground. It was the roof, he realized, but only a few feet of it. He turned a full circle, taking in his surroundings. The air was hazy with shifting tints of blue and purple. As he looked around he saw familiar sights: The kitchen from their apartment, his and Kurogane's bedroom, Ruby sitting in her armchair. Everything was disjointed though, bubbles of familiar scenery floating past him and dissolving. He saw Kurogane picking him up one second and the next he saw Sakura talking to a space in the living room. He was seeing things that had happened and thing that were happening, scenes were floating in front and above him, everything connected and disconnected at once. He felt sick and extraordinary all at once. The patch of ground he was standing on suddenly dissolved and he was lying on a couch, their couch, he realized. He sat up and looked down_ _at the patch of their living room carpet below him, just large enough to accommodate the couch. Below him, he saw himself. And Ashura. Ashura stuck him across the face and he looked away immediately, focusing on another image. _

"_You have to see."_

_Fai's head snapped around to the person sitting on the couch beside him. It was his other's spirit again, trying to talk. Fai made to stand then realized he had no where to go._

"_You can't ignore me, I am you. You can't deny this."_

_Fai looked away and suddenly he was facing the other direction, sitting where his dead image had been sitting, forced into eye-contact. _

"_Why?" He asked. "Why do I have to see something I know?"_

_The image laughed._

"_You say you know, but you don't, not really. You believe you deserve what he has done, what he will do to you. I believed it as well." His image looked at his lap. "From here you see things differently."_

_Fai shook his head._

"_It was my curse that drove him to this. If it weren't for me he would be okay…"_

"_Do you truly believe that?"_

_Fai nodded after a brief hesitation._

"_What proof do you have that you are cursed?"_

"_What?"_

"_The only reason you know you are cursed is that people have told you. That means nothing."_

"_But-"_

"_Just think about it. That's not my reason for drawing you here."_

"_Where are we?"_

"_The middle plain. It's the space between the mortal realm and the realm of the dead. This is where spirits go when they can't find their way. It's a mix between the two."_

"_Why are you…I here?"_

"_The feather keeps me from crossing over completely."_

"_Because of its power?"_

"_Yes. At least, that was the problem in the beginning. Now that the feather has been removed I should be able to cross but… Now I have a purpose."_

"_To tell me how you died."_

"_To prove to you this isn't your fault. When I died I believed I deserved it. But being here for so long and seeing my life over and over again… I realized I, we, didn't."_

"_How did you die?"_

"_He killed me." _

"_Why?" _

"_Because he wanted to; he was insane, but through no fault of mine…ours. You have to understand that there was nothing you could have done to protect him. It's time to protect yourself."_

_Fai laughed, harsh._

"_I left. That's all I can do."_

"_If he found you, if he gave you the choice between killing him or letting him kill you, what would you do?"_

_It wasn't a question; his image spoke as though he knew the answer. Fai shook his head._

"_I will not kill someone. One murder is enough…"_

_Fai thought momentarily._

"_What happened to Fai in this world?"_

_His spirit shook his head._

"_There's a disease in this world, called cancer. He died when we were very young and it was no more my fault in this world than it was in yours."_

_Fai huphed._

"_You're really pushy."_

_The spirit laughed._

"_So are you… Will you humor me and just listen? I think it will help."_

"_No! Just let me wake up!"_

_The air of humor dissipated when Fai yelled. His spirit shook his head._

"_I won't let you wake up until you listen to me. You remember what happened last time you forced yourself awake?"_

_Fai sighed._

"_You can tell me, but it will not affect my decisions regarding King Ashura."_

"_That's fine, as long as I know you had a chance."_

_The spirit raised his hand and an bubble flashed in front of them. It flickered through images. _

"_I'll start when we moved to this apartment." The image changed to the living room of the apartment. Fai saw himself skip through the door carrying a box and saw Ashura stride in behind him. It had been so long since he'd seen that face it gave him pause, remembering. He said something to Ashura and the man laughed, setting down his box and kissing Fai on the forehead._

"_I know you and your Ashura did not have quite the same relationship as we did, but I loved him just as much. We were very happy here for not nearly as long as we could have been when it started."_

"_What started?"_

_Fai was too transfixed by the images of himself and Ashura to feign indifference. The image quickly changed to one of himself talking to someone he didn't recognize and Ashura coming up behind him. As his back was to him, Fai's other didn't notice and after a few seconds Ashura seemed… annoyed. The image changed again to the kitchen and Ashura yelling at him. Fai looked confused._

_The next image was similar, Ashura finding him talk to someone and then flipping to him yelling at Fai._

"_What's going on?"_

_His image sighed._

"_He got… possessive. It was sudden, and I didn't realize it. I thought I was being inconsiderate so I tried harder to acknowledge him."_

_He saw himself turn away from a neighbor, ignoring someone greet him. Each time Ashura smiled. After a few times the smile stopped and finally turned to a glare. The next one was of Fai being yelled at._

"_He hated when I talked to people, hated it. I didn't understand but I decided that I would try to accommodate him anyway. I started asking before leaving the apartment and after a few times he started saying no. Then he asked if I was seeing someone. Of course I said know, but…"_

_The image was in the kitchen again. Ashura was standing in front of the door, arms crossed, and Fai recognized the look in his eye. It was the same look he'd had when Fai had found those bodies._

Insane

_Fai was staring at him and Ashura asked something, cold fury in his eyes. Fai saw himself try to move passed him and Ashura suddenly grabbed him and hit him across the face before walking away._

_He turned to his image._

"_What-"_

"_That happened a lot. It gets worse, watch;"_

_Fai couldn't look away as he watched a few rapid-fire scenes, Ashura hitting him in the face, Ashura twisting his wrist, Ashura barely avoiding snapping his arm and after every moment was an apology. Ashura would hug him or he'd kiss his forehead…and every time Fai would watch himself smile, recognizing his mask, and apologize himself. _

"_It was always like that; He'd hurt me and yell at me and I'd apologize, thinking it was my fault for upsetting him. I stopped going out unless he wasn't home and I absolutely had to. It was one of those occasions when I met…him."_

_Fai watched the image turn to himself, going down to the first floor of the building to the wall of mail-boxes. He saw a familiar face next to him when he reached the bottom._

"_Kurogane!"_

_His image smiled._

"_That's right! Kuro-sama was our downstairs neighbor. He was such a sweet-heart… always worrying about me."_

"_Worrying?"_

"_Not at first but…"_

_He saw Ashura enter the building and catch him talking to Kurogane. Ashura smiled and shook Kurogane's hand. Fai saw himself smile nervously at Ashura who returned it with everything but his eyes. The next image was Ashura hitting him across the face, back at their apartment._

_He saw himself run into Kurogane again, this time in the hall outside the apartment. Kurogane looked angry and Fai realized his eye was black Kurogane was asking him something, probably who hit him, and Fai shook his head, turning back into the apartment and closing the door. Kurogane stood outside for ten minutes before groaning and walking away. _

_He saw himself passing Kurogane again and again, each time trying to avoid him and each time Kurogane would make it hard._

"_Why do you keep letting him see you if you know what will happen?"_

_His other self shook his head. _

"_I was so lonely, so unbelievably lonely. Every time I saw him I wanted to talk to him so badly that I'd forget to walk away. Ashura was upset every time I talked to someone, but then he'd ignore me. So I indulged myself with little snippets of conversation. If I had let that poor boy in and told him what was going on instead of denying it I would probably still be alive." His other self looked away, "I would probably be with him now."_

_He was quiet for a moment, thinking, before he continued._

"_But I didn't. I told him I was fine and refused his help… refused _him**, **_and look where I ended up."_

_Fai nodded and they sat in silence for a moment._

"_Well it's not over yet; keep watching."_

"_I don't want to-"_

"_Keep watching!"_

_His other self raised his voice and Fai nodded, not wanting to see the end he knew was coming._

"_Did he… did he kill Kurogane? Just tell me know, did he kill Kurogane?"_

_Fai sighed. _

"_No, he didn't. Although I can tell you, even your Kurogane would be upset to hear you more concerned about him than yourself."_

_Fai bristled._

"_If you never talked to him much, how do you know so much about him?"_

_His other self looked sad and refused to meet his eye. _

"_I have been trapped in this world for so long, and I watched him up until the day he left, a few weeks after he _thought _I had left. Watch._

_Fai looked and saw himself standing outside of his apartment, leaning against the doorframe and talking nervously to Kurogane. He saw himself continuously checking down the hall, probably watching for Ashura. Lo and behold, the tall dark haired man appeared giving Kurogane a brief greeting and simply standing there until they finished, albeit awkwardly, and Kurogane walked back down the hall, stewing at having practically been dismissed._

_Seeming to read his thoughts, his other self nodded._

"_He was always angry when Ashura showed up. I think he resented that I was with him…he… He loved me the way yours loves you."_

_Fai started and made to argue, but his image smiled and held up a hand._

"_We'll talk about that in a second. Watch."_

_Fai forced himself to watch what he knew was going to happen._

_Ashura hit him across the face and he wobbled. He could rarely hear words, but he did hear Ashura call him a slut before he hit him again. He turned to his image._

"_Ashura accused me of being with Kurogane. Of course I had never _been_with him the way Ashura was insinuating, but… I did love him, and I wasn't with him simply because I felt loyal Ashura. Through all the beatings and yelling, I couldn't bring myself to do what I considered betrayal."_

_Fai turned back and realized that Ashura was still hitting him and he was wobbling. He saw himself stumble and grab onto the kitchen counter before Ashura blindly snatched something off of the counter and he heard himself say please before Ashura shoved the knife into his chest. He closed his eyes and listened to himself be stabbed again. Then it faded to black just as Fai opened his eyes._

"_So that's how I died?"_

"_Not quite. Even that wasn't enough to kill me."_

_Fai saw Ashura set him down on their bed bleeding heavily. Beside him, his image sighed in boredom._

"_Here come the apologies. I guess that's what made me stay, but after watching this so many times I hate it. I don't believe I was so stupid."_

_Fai saw himself whimper in pain as Ashura lifted him into his lap, kissing him on the cheek. _

"_I hate this part." His image sighed, "Listen."_

"_You were beautiful," He barely heard Ashura whisper, still holding the knife. "But I could never explain this to a doctor."_

_Fai saw himself tense as the knife came around and quickly slit his throat. The picture faded to black._

"_So that's that."_

_His image spoke._

"_I refused to leave Ashura or believe that he would ever seriously hurt me. I refused to confide in Kurogane and it got me killed. I don't want the same thing to happen to me twice."_

_Fai nodded sadly. _

"_Did Ashura get caught? What did he do with my… our body?"_

_His image grimaced. As far as I know, no one knows what happened. It took me so long to learn how to watch the world from hear that I never knew what happened to my body. You're not attached to it after you die like people think you are. You're more attached to physical items, like my necklace. Ashura gave me that when we moved in together. He dropped that in the water tower, I don't know why. I do know that my rarely leaving the house certainly helped him; no one really questioned when they didn't see me. When Kurogane saw people carrying out boxes he asked Ashura and he told him that I was already at some new apartment, unpacking. I don't think Kuro-sama questioned him too much, I remember he seemed sad though…He moved out a little after that. I think he only stayed here as long as he did because of me. I couldn't watch him anymore after he left… That's why I had to come visit yours!"_

_Now his image smiled and Fai laughed._

"_Yes," Fai nodded, "I heard you crawled into bed with him when I wasn't there?"_

_Another laugh._

"_Yes well, I never got the chance to do it before, I had to just to be with him. He thought it was you; he started to put his arm around me before you had to go and flush the toilet. Incidentally, that's where the blood stain came from."_

"_You were in the shower with him as well…"_

_This time his image snickered. _

"_Well, that was more because it was easier to get his attention when he wasn't in bed; he couldn't tell himself he was dreaming. I can't really manipulate physical things, I'm not a poltergeist. But I discovered I can draw in steam so I drew him a picture. Also I talked to your friend Sakura, she's very sweet. Of course, not as sweet as our puppy."_

_Fai laughed._

"_I suppose that's true."_

"_So I guess what I wanted to tell you is … Please don't blame yourself for Ashura, he caused his own problems and he hurt you, not the other way around. And be good to your Kuro-chii because he cares for you more than he lets on. That's what I needed to do before I could leave this earth; I had to know that, at least in some way, we would be together… And I had to protect you, make sure you understood the things I couldn't understand until I watched my life a thousand times and then thousand more. I had to protect my other self."_

** I'M DONE! Yes, I'll edit this and repost next year but until then I'm DONE! It feels good lol.. Okay, review responses:**

**To BrettWitford:**

**You're welcome for nothing^^ That would have been awsome lol. I had my second pixi stick of my entire life tonight and it was soooo good!**

**To Ninja Mafia Mistress:**

**I guess you know the answer to that now, sorry ^^' But just so you know, I only wrote this chapter this afternoon and I actually wasn't going to have a Kuro-chii, but then I saw your review so I did^^**

**To Cased In Darkness:**

**I'm happy to hear people besides me sit at their computer and wait for fanfic chapters ^^ As for what I did tonight I went trick-or-treating with a friend, but he went as a jelly-fish with really bright LED lights all over so people kinda ignored my awesome gothic-lollita-kitty costume complete with a killer bodice and a black and purple tail. It was fun though^^ Aw, I'm sotty you didn't finish your Fai cosplay piece, I always love seeing those^^**

**To Lazy Kitty Hyuu:**

**Yes I actually did think that might have stood for something lol! I'm glad you liked it so much and just so you know, your review is the second reason there's any Kurofai in this as I wrote it this afternoon after reading reviews^^**

**To alguien22792:**

**yes, some info was deffinetly neccisary. I almost wrote this to be the twelth chap and the twelth was gonna be the thirteenth, but I decided to wait. You are the third reason there was Kurofai in this chap^^**

**To 0equilibrium0:**

**Cowgirl-with, very nice^^ I'm the same way with my costumes: I already had everything for my gothic-lollita cat except for the ears and tail^^ Oh, and I'm glad you liked my story^^**

**Well guys, that's all she wrote, 'she' being me^^ Remember to check out my other stories and my youtube account (Himetsukineko for Kurofai AMVs) and my dA account (ShingetsuXMangetsu) for art and an eventual pic of my costume. If you're on either of those sights let me know and I'll watch/friend you^^ **

**I have some special thank-you's to doll out for my most loyal reviewers of this story:**

**Cased In Darkness**

**BrettWitford**

**Ninja Mafia Mistress (who's name is _still _awesome)**

**Tarmachan**

**You guys are all awesome and I apriciate your review and feedback. Now for my more rescent/one time reviewers:**

**alguien22792**

**yuukiwhitewolf**

**0equilibrium0**

**Lazy Kitty Hyuu**

**Asuka Neko**

**cat eyed girl-meongchan**

**You guys are all great and appreciate your support! Well... I have nothing else to say. It's almost midnight so I'm just gonna make my deadline. All I can say is Happy Halloween!**

**ありがとう,**

**ハッピーハロウィン**

**ShingetsuXMangetsu**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello hello hello~ **

**For those of you who subscribed to this story I just posted the first chapter of a completely rewritten version so please check it out and tell me what you think^^**

**ありがとう,**

**ハッピーハロウィン**

**ShingetsuXMangetsu**


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